


Holidate

by bea_weasley



Series: OTP Advent Calendar [10]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Muggle, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fake Dating, Fred is a dork, Hermione is adorable, Molly knew all along, OTP Advent Calendar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:41:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27991692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bea_weasley/pseuds/bea_weasley
Summary: Hermione couldn't believe in what Fred was asking her to do, but it wasn't like she was going to say no. After all, it's just for the Holidays, right?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Fred Weasley
Series: OTP Advent Calendar [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2032237
Kudos: 28





	Holidate

**Author's Note:**

> Another day, another pairing, another prompt... I'm loving this calendar
> 
> Based on this prompt: I invited you to Christmas dinner as my boyfriend/girlfriend so that my family would stop pestering me about being single, but we can keep this up until New Year's, right? au/Pretend boyfriend/girlfriend for family Christmas party

**_Holidate_ **

* * *

“You want me to do what?” Hermione’s voice could be heard through her flat because she couldn’t believe what her best friend had asked her. 

“C’mon, Mi, it’s just for Christmas dinner with my family.” Fred tried to reason with her, but she wasn’t letting him off the hook yet. “You know how my family — okay, how my  _ mum _ becomes this time of the year.”

“Yeah, I know how Molly gets, but this doesn’t mean anything! I’m still not doing it,” Hermione said, crossing her arms and glaring at Fred. 

“Please, Hermione! Don’t make me go face them alone!” Fred practically begged her, but she wasn’t falling for it. 

“They’re your family, Fred, not mine,” Hermione retorted in a dry tone, making Fred snort. “What?” 

“You’re crazy if you think the Weasleys aren’t your family,” Fred said with a smirk, which made Hermione smile even though she didn’t want to. “Mum adopted you the day George and I brought you home all those years ago.”

Hermione couldn’t stop the smile that spread on her face, remembering all too well the day she had met the Weasleys, and that was the reason why she couldn’t do what Fred was asking her to do. 

“And because your mother considers me a surrogate daughter, that’s why I can’t do what you’re asking me. Imagine her reaction if she discovers the truth!” Hermione tried not to hyperventilate, but she didn’t want to be at the receiving end of one of Molly Weasley’s sermons. 

“Mi, breathe!” Fred was just as worried as she was, but he wasn’t a prankster for nothing. “You don’t need to get all worked up about my mum discovering the truth because she  _ isn’t _ going to discover it, all right? We can pull this thing off.”

“I don’t know, Fred...” Hermione bit her lip, thinking about what he was asking of her. It’s true that Molly was always a little overbearing during the Christmas season, but Hermione didn’t know if it was a good idea to fake a relationship just for Molly to stop pestering Fred. One look at his hopeless face and she knew what her answer would be. “Fine, I accept your crazy idea.”

Fred hollered with happiness, grabbing Hermione from the couch they were sitting on and twirling with her in his arms. Hermione laughed at his actions. “Thanks, Mi, this means a lot for me.”

“No problem, Fred, this can’t be too difficult, right?” Hermione asked, hoping she was right about her assumptions.    


* * *

Hermione couldn’t have been more wrong when she had thought that being Fred’s girlfriend —  _ fake  _ girlfriend _ —  _ to the Weasley Christmas dinner party couldn’t be too difficult. Besides the fact that she knew all the Weasley family for some time now and that everyone had always assumed she and Fred had something more than friendship going on — they couldn’t be more wrong, of course, but now she can’t say anything; damn Fred! — she didn’t like lying to Molly, and even less, being scrutinized by all the Weasleys. 

“I really hope that the present you bought for me compensates for all of this,” Hermione murmured in Fred's ear, smiling at his grandmother when she saw the older woman looking at them. “And you better bring me another cookie if you want your  _ girlfriend  _ to continue being happy.”

Fred only chuckled and kissed Hermione’s cheek. He went to grab another cookie for her but was stopped in the middle by his brothers, and he forgot what she had asked him. Hermione sighed, but she wasn’t mad about it; it was rare now to have all the Weasley siblings under one roof at the same time, so they always enjoyed it when they could get together. She was lost in her thoughts, watching Fred laughing with his brothers, that she never saw when someone sat beside her on the couch. 

“I can’t say how happy I am that you and Freddie finally became a couple.” Molly’s voice interrupted Hermione from her daydream. Widening her eyes, she turned to look at her  _ fake mother-in-law,  _ who was smiling widely at her _.  _ “I always knew that you two liked each other but were too stubborn to see what was right in front of you.”

Hermione gulped, not knowing what to say about it; she didn’t want to hurt Molly’s feelings, but she didn’t want to tell her that the relationship Molly was so happy about was a fake one — just because Fred was so desperate for his mother to leave him alone for the holidays. So, she smiled a little, thinking carefully about what she was going to say. 

“We’re happy we finally talked about it,” Hermione said, feeling her heart clench. She didn’t know why, but she didn’t like lying when she talked about her relationship with Fred. “We thought we should wait to tell everyone about it, but we didn’t want to spend Christmas apart.”

“And I’m so happy about it!” Molly said, hugging Hermione with all her might, and Hermione couldn’t help but hug her back. “I knew from the moment that the twins brought you here to meet us all those years ago that someday you would become a part of our family. And I was right!”

“Wow, Mum, take it easy! We just started dating, so don’t make Hermione want to run for the hills,” Fred said, choosing that moment to return with her cookie, looking at her with a sappy expression on his face, which made Hermione’s heart do a somersault. “Let’s keep the talk about her joining the family to a minimum, please?”

“Oh, Freddie!” Molly said, dropping Hermione on the couch and launching herself at Fred to hug him, who almost lost balance and fell over at her enthusiasm. “I’m so happy for you both! This is the best Christmas present ever!”

“So I can take back the present that's under the tree?” Fred said, trying to disguise what his mother’s words had done to him. It seemed like everyone was going to say something to make him feel weird about his proposition to Hermione.

Molly just chuckled, patting Fred's cheek and letting go of her son to go mingle with the guests. Fred sat down by Hermione’s side, giving her the cookie without even looking at her. They were both lost in their own thoughts. 

“Hey, Mi, do you think we can talk?” Fred asked with such a small voice. His tone made Hermione’s heart clench with worry and anxiety. When Hermione nodded in reply, the couple stood from the couch and went to Fred’s old room. 

Hermione couldn’t stop smiling, seeing the way that the room looked exactly the same even after all those years. Fred and George had shared the room for so long, and George always was there with them when Hermione spent some time in the room, that it was weird that he wasn’t there now. Fred seated on his old bed, smiling a little seeing Hermione looking around the room.

“I know that I asked you to be my ‘girlfriend’ to our Christmas dinner just to let my family out of my back and just enjoy today without them pestering me about relationships and stuff,” Fred said, making air quotes around the word girlfriend, which made Hermione smile. “But I didn’t know that my mum was practically waiting for us to become a couple for so long now.”

“Yeah, I never knew Molly wanted me to become a part of the family,” Hermione mumbled, coming to sit next to Fred on the bed. He took her hand in his, playing with her fingers. “Is it bad that I felt really warm when she told me about wanting me as part of the family?”

“No, I kinda felt the same way,” Fred said, smiling in Hermione’s direction, who blushed a little at his gesture. “So… I know I only asked you to do this because of the party, but what do you think about pretending until New Year’s?”

Hermione just looked at Fred, unable to understand where he was going with it; Fred chuckled a little at her confused look and decided to take pity on her. 

“After today, I realized that Mum was right: I always felt something for you, Mi, and I didn’t know what it was until we were faking it,” Fred said, looking straight into Hermione’s eyes. Taking a deep breath, he continued, “What I’m trying to say is… do you want to be my girlfriend for our New Year’s party? My  _ real _ girlfriend.”

Hermione just stared at Fred, trying to understand what he was saying; it was true that she had always felt something towards the redhead, but she had never let herself dwell too much on those feelings, and now… Fred wanted to discover more about the feelings that it seemed like he had, as well. 

“I would love to be your  _ real  _ girlfriend for New Year’s and maybe the rest of the year, too?” Hermione said, biting her lip, and Fred couldn’t stop the laugh that surged through him. 

“That’s one of the things that I adore about you,” he said, coming near her and putting a hand on her cheek. “The way you make my life better with just a word.”

And without wasting any more time, Fred sealed their lips in what was the first of the many kisses that they would share. After all, now that Hermione was his real girlfriend, he didn’t intend to let her go. 


End file.
